


Tumblr Mini-fic #5: Orrery

by berlynn_wohl



Series: Tumblr Mini-Fics [5]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Astronomy, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-04
Updated: 2012-12-04
Packaged: 2017-11-20 07:24:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/582799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/berlynn_wohl/pseuds/berlynn_wohl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part of a series of Johnlock mini-fics written for my Tumblr followers. John and Sherlock visit a planetarium.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tumblr Mini-fic #5: Orrery

_When my 300th follower failed to respond to my message asking for a prompt, I instead picked on[aine308](http://aine308.tumblr.com/), who has left more notes on my blog than any other follower. She gave me a number of esoteric prompts, one of which was “Lower Wacker Drive.” (Lower Wacker Drive? I hardly know ‘er!) That made me think of Chicago, obviously, and the fact that Chicago is home to the **Adler** Planetarium. So I hope this fic about John and Sherlock at a planetarium isn’t too tangential, darling. P.S. It does not have Irene Adler in it. **  
**_

********

John was examining the speculative globe representing a terraformed Mars when Sherlock returned to his side, a smug little smile on his face.

“It might please you to know,” Sherlock said, “that I’ve now memorized all the planets in the solar system. A worthless bit of knowledge, but I know it means a lot to you.”

“Go on, then.”

Sherlock looked up and to the right, and recited, “Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune.”

John nodded once. “Uh huh. And?”

“And what?”

“There’s still one more. Two if you count Pluto.”

“Pluto is a cartoon dog, John.”

John pressed his lips together, then said, “Alright, but there’s still one more.” Suddenly he noticed something at the edge of his vision; he peered past Sherlock and at a nearby display. “Er, from where, precisely, did you acquire this newfound knowledge?”

Sherlock twisted round and pointed at the metal contraption whose presence John had just detected. “It’s called an orrery. _You_ said the Earth goes round the sun, but that device clearly showed the sun going round the Earth.”

“Sherlock, that orrery is from the seventeenth century. Its information is rubbish, we know now.”

Sherlock stamped his foot. “Well then what’s it doing here? Useless! We have been here for two hours and I haven’t learned a single practical fact. Have you seen everything? I’m ready to leave.”

“Did you read the sticky notes about the Moon?” John led Sherlock to a display that Sherlock had bypassed earlier. It was a sort of interactive exhibit, geared towards young people coming through on school trips and whatnot. A large plaque read:

**WHAT IS ONE WAY YOUR LIFE WOULD BE DIFFERENT IF YOU LIVED ON THE MOON?**

Beneath this was a table with pads of sticky notes and writing implements, and next to it a large board upon which people could post their responses.

“Boring,” Sherlock said.

John shrugged. “I thought some of the answers were amusing.”

The notes said things like:

**I could do whatever I wanted because my parents would still be on Earth  
**

**No boys!  
**

**THE MOON LANDING WAS A HOAX. LEARN THE TRUTH AT MOONMOVIE.COM  
**

**Best dune buggy rides ever!**

Sherlock read the messages, frowning at every single one. He was despairing of leaving this planetarium feeling that the time he’d spent was _not_ a complete waste. This perfunctory opportunity for children to express themselves was no help at all. John could see that Sherlock wasn’t entertained, so he turned and headed for the exit.

Just then, Sherlock remembered something he’d read on a display in another exhibit.

He quickly peeled a sticky note from the pad, took up a pen, and scribbled _My bone mass would decrease due to the reduced gravity_. He stuck it on the board as he followed John out.

 


End file.
